Impact[edit]

The recycling of the railway into an urban park has brought on the revitalization of Chelsea, which had been "gritty" and in generally poor condition in the late twentieth century.^[70] It has also spurred real estate development in the neighborhoods that lie along the line.^[14] Mayor Bloomberg noted that the High Line project has helped usher in something of a renaissance in the neighborhood: by 2009, more than 30 projects were planned or under construction nearby.^[10] Residents who have bought apartments next to the High Line Park have adapted to its presence in varying ways, but most responses are positive; some, however, claim that the park became a "tourist-clogged catwalk" since it opened.^[26] The real estate boom has not been victimless, however, many well-established businesses in west Chelsea have closed due to loss of neighborhood customer base or rent increases.^[71]

Crime has been extraordinarily low in the park. Shortly after the second section opened in 2011, The New York Times reported that there have been no reports of major crimes such as assaults or robberies since its first phase opened two years prior. Parks Enforcement Patrols have written summonses for various infractions of park rules, such as walking dogs or riding bicycles on the walkway, but at a rate lower than in Central Park. Park advocates attributed that to the high visibility of the High Line from the surrounding buildings, a feature of traditional urbanism espoused by author Jane Jacobs nearly fifty years earlier. According to Joshua David, a co-founder of Friends of the High Line, "Empty parks are dangerous ... Busy parks are much less so. You're virtually never alone on the High Line."^[72]

A New Yorker columnist, in a review of the Highliner restaurant (which took over the space of the classicEmpire Diner), complained that "the new Chelsea that is emerging on weekends as visitors flood the elevated park... [as] touristy, overpriced, and shiny."^[73]

The success of the High Line in New York City has encouraged the leaders of other cities, such as MayorRahm Emanuel of Chicago, who see it as "a symbol and catalyst" for gentrifying neighborhoods.^[74]Several cities also have plans to renovate some railroad infrastructure into park land, includingPhiladelphia and St. Louis. In Chicago, where the Bloomingdale Trail, a 2.7-mile (4.3 km) long linear park on former railroad infrastructure, will run through several neighborhoods. One estimate is that it costs substantially less to redevelop an abandoned urban rail line into a linear park than to demolish it.^[74]James Corner, one of the Bloomingdale Trail's designers, said, "The High Line is not easily replicable in other cities," observing that building a "cool park" requires a "framework" of neighborhoods around it in order to succeed.^[74] In Queens, the Queensway, a proposed aerial rail trail, is being considered for reactivation along the right-of-way of the former LIRR Rockaway Beach Branch.^[75] Other cities around the world are planning elevated rails-to-trails parks. One writer called this the "High Line effect".^[76]

Due to the popularity of the High Line, there have been several proposals for museums along its path. The Dia Art Foundation considered, but rejected, a proposal to build a museum at the Gansevoort Street terminus.^[77] On that site, the Whitney Museum is currently constructing a new home for its collection of American art. The building was designed by Renzo Piano and will open in 2015.^[78]